1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of graphical user displays. More specifically, the invention comprises a graphical display for fleet managers and group managers that rapidly conveys relevant information to the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is applicable to a wide variety of operations. One suitable application is the management of a fleet of moving vehicles. Accordingly, some prior art relevant to vehicle fleet management will be disclosed. Current fleet management primarily deals with operator-driven vehicles such as taxi cabs and delivery tracks. Automation is rapidly increasing in this field. Some autonomous vehicles are now in operation and autonomous vehicles are expected to become increasingly common. While autonomous vehicles are now largely confined to defined pathways (such as within a factory), they are eventually expected to become common on public roads and streets.
As automation increases, human management of autonomous vehicles will become less taxing. Fewer human operators will therefore be able to manage larger fleets of vehicles. However, it is likely that a requirement for human oversight and manual operation of an individual vehicle at a particular time will remain. Large fleets will likely be monitored and controlled by multiple human operators and a hierarchy among these operators may be advisable. A “group manager” in this context is an individual who is responsible for a subset of the entire fleet at any time. A “fleet manager” is responsible for the entire fleet and the group managers.
FIG. 1 depicts a representative prior art display that is suitable for use by a fleet manager. Map depiction 10 shows the area of a particular vehicle fleet's operation. Major roads 12 are depicted, as are points of interest 14 (in this case an airport). Vehicle icons 16 show the current location and direction of travel for each vehicle being tracked.
More detail is often provided in response to clicking on a particular portion of the map or a particular vehicle icon. For example, a group manager may only be concerned with a subset of the available vehicles or a subset of the geographic area. FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view that pops up when a particular vehicle icon 16 is selected. Dialogue box 18 displays data pertaining to the selected vehicle and may provide one or more action buttons 20 allowing additional actions to be taken.
A graphical user interlace such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 provides meaningful information to fleet managers and group managers. However it does little to reduce the work load. The human operator must scan and monitor all vehicles equally. The operator must also constantly make selections to learn more information. A more helpful interface would intuitively alert the user to vehicles needing attention. The present invention provides such an interface.